


Marry Me

by Danii_Girl



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M, bestfriend!Calum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 08:05:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4617813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danii_Girl/pseuds/Danii_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted on my tumblr cliffordchick</p>
    </blockquote>





	Marry Me

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr cliffordchick

I. 

The first time Calum asked you to marry him you were five. The two of you had spent the whole day in your family’s backyard playing all sorts of games five year old kids play. Calum went from pushing the stroller of your favorite doll pretending to be her father to saving you from the evil dragon, also known as your new beagle pup Biscuit. He was your pretend husband, your knight in shining armor, the bank robber you killed, and even the vet you brought your “sick” dog too. 

When your imaginations had worn thin and the heat of the day subsided, the two of you would run around the yard playing you favorite game of all, tag. 

You had been tagged it and was chasing Calum around. Of course he had an advantage, having already started playing soccer he was more conditioned at running than you. It was only when he pulled so far ahead that he’d stop and watch you running after him — a smug smile plastered on his five year old face — that you’d sneak up and tap his shoulder before running off in the other direction. 

Calum’s favorite part of tag was the chase, something that came to make a lot more sense as the two of you got older. Even at the ripe age of five Calum marveled at your beauty, loving the way your hair tousled with every step farther away you took. Your shrieks of joy were music to his ears even at his naive age. He may not have known what love was then, but he did know he felt different when he was around you. 

“I’m going to get you!” he shouted, closing the distances between the two of you. 

You tried to run faster, willing your legs to carry you in bigger strides but you weren’t built like Calum. Your short legs weren’t meant for running away from the looming threat of being tagged it. With every step your lungs cried out begging you to stop until you finally did, giving Calum the advantage he needed. 

Calum knew you had stopped but he couldn’t stop. His legs weren’t listening to the nagging of his brain, you’re going to knock her over! His legs continued to carry him towards you until, finally, his body whirled right into yours knocking the both of you over in a pile of shriek and laughter. 

It was there, lying in the freshly cut grass staining your white shorts that Calum asked you, “Will you marry me?” To which you giggled and nodded your head enthusiastically, there was nothing more you wanted than to be married to your best friend. And true to his word, the next day Calum arrived at your house with a ring pop, ready to make your marriage official in a mock ceremony in your backyard where Biscuit served as the officiant and your marriage license was your initials carved into the bark of your favorite tree. 

II. 

It was seven years later when Calum asked you to marry him again. The two of you were twelve now and well in the middle of the dreaded stages of puberty. Of course, you got the bad end of the deal with your insides tearing themselves apart and extra fat appearing on places of your body that were otherwise lean. Calum on the other hand, he grew taller and gained muscle definition, something that only continued well on through his teenage years. You often felt like your world was falling apart and your mood often reflected that. 

Calum and you hadn’t hung out in your backyard for many years but the two of you remained close, just not at school. With your emergence into middle school the two of you found yourself in very different social groups. Calum finding a home with the popular crowd while you found yourself isolated with only one other girl who didn’t talk much. 

The two of you avoided each other at school, not because you weren’t friends but because you were. You had no interest in hanging out with Calum’s judgmental friends and Calum was stuck in the middle between his best friend from childhood and his new found popularity. But all of that changed when he caught one of his “friends” treating you badly. 

It was towards the end of the school year and a special time of month for you but like any twelve year old your knowledge about periods was lacking. You had been feeling quite irritable lately but you didn’t connect the symptoms to PMS, partly because you had no idea what PMS was and partly because you liked to pretend your period didn’t exist. Unfortunately you couldn’t do that today especially when you went to the bathroom only to reveal the dreaded stain of red gracing you new skirt. Luckily your mom had taught you something and before you left the bathroom you tied your sweater tightly around your waist, saving you from embarrassment or so you thought. 

Moments after you emerged from the bathroom you were fact to face with the scornful eyes of a twelve year old boy you hadn’t let cheat off of your test in math class. Before you had time to react he pulled your sweater from you only to reveal the stain you were trying so desperately to hide. Just as he opened his mouth to tell you all the hateful things you know he said behind your back, Calum stepped in. 

“Leave her alone,” he said sternly, towering over the boy who had yet to hit his growth spurt. 

It was Calum who saved you that day and stayed by your side making sure no one would take your sweater from you again. He even made sure that no one said a thing about you, at least while he was present. It was on that day that your unspoken agreement to ignore each other at school was broken. 

That afternoon, as Calum and you walked home he asked you again. 

“Will you marry me?” 

And just like the first time, you nodded your head and agreed. Promising Calum that on Saturday the two of you meet in your backyard to make the marriage official, carving the date into the original tree while Biscuit stood by your side. 

III. 

The next time Calum brought up marriage the two of you were sixteen. The two of you were sophomores in high school and trying your best to make the high school years memorable. Calum was doing a pretty good job at it, having finally made the varsity soccer team but you weren’t so lucky, until the boy you’d had a crush on since your freshman year asked you to the annual homecoming dance. 

You were overjoyed when it happened, sparing no detail when you retold the story to Calum. And Calum listened, smiling as you babbled on an on. All Calum wanted was for you to be happy and seeing you smile over a boy that wasn’t him didn’t change that. 

Calum, being the best friend he was, accompanied you and your mother on the hunt for dresses. He stood by your side for hours critiquing every dress you ventured out of the dressing rooms in. “That one’s too short.” “Too long.” “Jesus Y/N, you have to leave something up to the imagination.” Until finally you found the perfect dress, picked out by Calum of course. 

The day of Homecoming was stressful. Your mother worked diligently on your hair while you focused your energy on your make up. Every once in a while you’d stop and send a quick snapchat to Calum to get his opinion. In which he’d reply with a picture of the television screen in front of him, the text reading “don’t forget the lipstick.” You’d smile, reminding him that was the last step. Once you were finally dressed you’d have your mom take a full length picture for you which you sent to Calum to get on final opinion before your date arrived. 

With only minutes to spare, you headed down stairs where your parents embarked in a photo shoot. It was only after you were done posing for their hundreds of picture did you catch sight of the clock. He was five minutes late. Your mom told you not to worry, told you to sit on the couch and distract yourself. That he was probably stuck in traffic since he didn’t live around the corner from you. And you listened to her, until the clock kept ticking and your porch stayed empty. 

An hour later the reality set in. 

The dance had started, the gym most certainly decked out in an underwater theme and yet you were still at home. He never texted you to let you know he was going to be late and you couldn’t bare to text him either. The boy you’d spent a year crushing on stood you up. Your parents tried to console you, but it was only when Calum called that you decided to speak. 

He was at your door in seconds, not bothering to knock but walking straight in. He found you sitting on the couch staring absentmindedly at the blank television. It was only when he pulled you to his chest that you started crying. 

“Hey,” he mumbled, his words being muffled by your hair. “Don’t cry over that asshole. He doesn’t deserve you anyway.” 

Your parents had told you the exact same thing half an hour ago but Calum said it differently. He didn’t have to make you feel better. He didn’t have to sit there on the couch on a Saturday night while your makeup stained his white shirt but he did. 

Calum stayed with you that night. His arms wrapped protectively around your middle as you continued to be heartbroken. He hated seeing you like this. Hated seeing the way some stupid boy had the power to break the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. But he knew a secret no one else did. He held the key to making you smile and just like he had done in the past he was going to use it now. 

“You know what?” he asked, during one of the calms before another breakdown. “That asshole doesn’t even matter ‘cause your married to me, remember?” 

“We were 12 Cal,” you sniffled.

“So just ‘cause we were 12 means it wasn’t real?” He asked, mock offended. “Well then I guess we’ll just have to get married again now won’t we. Where’s Biscuit he’s going to have to marry us again!” 

Before you knew it, Calum was dragging you to the backyard, Biscuit in tow. You stood by the famous marriage tree, while Calum ran his thumb under your eyes desperately trying to stop you from crying. It was there, in your wrinkled Homecoming dress and dull lighting that you carved your initials followed by a third date in the tree. 

IV. 

These pretend marriages often went hand in hand with major milestones in your live and the fourth marriage was no different. The two of you were now eighteen and packing up your cars to head off to colleges. Calum setting off across the country while you were only moving thirty miles north of your hometown. 

College was going to change your friendship dynamic. It was a fact both of you knew but were too afraid to admit. Instead you made promise you were unsure if you two could keep. 

“We’ll talk twice a week,” Calum promised. 

“And I’ll send you stupid care packages every month.” 

You wished Calum was going with you. He was the only friend you had ever had and the thought of having to embark in the next stage of your life without him was scary. Calum had been with you through everything and now he was going to be across the country immersing himself in all that his big college had to offer. 

And the truth was, Calum wished you were going with him. He could handle leaving his hometown and being away from his family for a while but leaving you was something he wasn’t comfortable with. In fact the day he got his acceptance letter was the best and worst day of his life. His dreams were coming true but for the first time in his life he wasn’t going to have his best friend by his side. 

“Cal, if we’re going to make the flight we’re going to need to leave in the next hour,” Calum’s mom reminded him. She was finishing putting the last of the luggage in the car while the two of you sat on his porch mopping. 

“I can’t believe you’re really leaving me,” you sighed, letting your head rest on his shoulder. 

Calum tipped his head towards yours, sighing the same way you had. “I’ll be back for a week in November and than for a month in December. It won’t be that bad.” 

“Don’t forget about me while your off having fun in college.” 

Calum laughed, “I could never forget about you Y/N. You’re my best friend in the entire world and nothing will ever change that.” 

“Promise?” 

“Of course I promise! If I didn’t think so would I ask you to marry me every chance I get?” 

“Are you asking me again?” You chuckled, the corners of your lips tugging up into a smile. 

“We might as well carve another date into that old tree of yours,” he said. 

Calum stood up before reaching his hand back down to help you up. Hand in hand the two of you walked over to your backyard where Biscuit was lying in the shade. You made your way over to the tree and soon Biscuit was at Cal’s feet. It was as if he remembered all the times the two of you had done this ritual. 

“Even Biscuit knows our tree is special.”

You watched as Calum carved the date into the tree once again before he took your hands in his. 

“Looks like we’re married for the forth time now,” Calum smiled. 

“Too bad Biscuit isn’t really an officiant. I’m pretty sure we would have broken a record for most marriages to the same person,” you joked. 

“No kidding, if he was I would be married to the most wonderful girl in the world for sixteen years already.” 

“Maybe one day,” you smiled. 

You wished in that moment that Calum had pressed his lips to yours, but he didn’t. You two were friends not lovers and no matter how many fake marriages the two of you had that’s how it was always going to be. Truth was you wished it wasn’t like that but now was not the time to try and redefine you relationship. 

During your moment of silence, Calum’s mom could be heard calling for him from the front of his head. Sullen, the two of you walked out of your backyard and back to where his car was parked. You watched as he piled into the back of his car, before he rolled his window down motioning for you to come closer. 

“I’ll call you as soon as I land.” 

V. 

Calum and you had kept your promise to stay in touch while in college, at least somewhat. The two of you continued to talk on the phone once a week but you hadn’t seen each other in over a year. Calum had stopped coming home for the holidays when he started working and you were too poor of a college student to afford a plane ticket out there. Instead the two of you relied on technology to keep you close. 

That was all about to change. 

It was your twenty-first birthday and Calum had promised you a surprise. You were expecting a gift box full of questionable items when the doorbell to your apartment rang but what you got was even better than that. There, on your doorstep, was Calum. He was dressed for a night on the town and the bottle of alcohol in his hands made you realize how unprepared you were for this evening. 

“What are you doing here?” you squealed, pulling him into a giant hug. 

“Did you really think I was going to miss my little munckins twenty-first birthday?” Calum said, making sure to remind you that he had already been twenty-one for five months. 

The two of you spent the afternoon catching up on missed time, in between shots of alcohol of course. When it came to partying Calum was no stranger, having been in a fraternity for some time now. But you weren’t use to the burn of the alcohol as it traveled down your throat. Not wanting to ruin you’re evening you stopped after only two shots, Calum only taking a few more than you. 

“So what are you wearing tonight?” Calum asked when the two of you ran out of things to talk about. 

You knew he didn’t mean to make you feel self-conscious but you couldn’t help but rethink the outfit you had on, after all that was what you had been planing on wearing to the bar tonight. It didn’t take Calum long to realize that he had said something wrong and he soon began backpedaling his statement. 

“Oh love, you look adorable in this outfit but you’re going to a club for the first time in your life! Don’t you want to outshine the whole place?” 

“I hate attention, you know that. Plus there’s no way in hell I could outshine all those pretty thin girls with their long hair and runway worthy makeup.” 

Calum’s heart broke listening to you talk about your body in such a negative way. He knew you had always had insecurities but he hadn’t realized without his presence to shut down those opinions you had only begun to create more problems within your own skin. 

“Please, those girls would kill for the curves you have,” he said, a slight blush cropping up on his cheeks.

“Maybe but it doesn’t matter now. I have nothing else to wear but this.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Calum smirked abandoning the couch. He walked his way over to his suitcase, the several shots of alcohol pulsing through his body had no effect on his ability to walk or talk. When he turned around he held a small red dress in his hands. “I saw this in a store the other day and I just knew my best friend had to have it for her twenty-first.”   
You gawked at him. There was no way he expected you to try that dress on nonetheless wear it out in public. You opened your mouth to protest but Calum didn’t let you, instead he handed you the dress, pushing you towards the bathroom so you could change. When you opened the door to reveal your barely clothed body you were met with Calum’s gawking eyes. 

The dress barely fell to your mid-thigh and the farther you tugged it down the farther the neck line fell to reveal more of your chest. It was also tight, the fabric pooling together at your waist and hips. 

“Now that’s what you wear out to a club on your twenty-first,” Calum smirked. 

“I can’t wear this, Cal! I’m barely clothed and I don’t want people staring at me all night,” you pouted. 

“I’ll protect you don’t worry.” 

True to his word he protected you all night, maybe a little too well. Calum made sure that any guy who remotely looked like they were giving you suggestive eyes knew that you were not going home with them. His hand stayed in constant contact with your hip, guiding you through the crowded dance floors over to the bar. He even made sure that no creep got too close to you once the alcohol set in and you were ready to dance, him being your automatic dance partner. 

Before long, the two of you were back at your apartment. Your hands tangled in Calum’s hair while his sat on your waist, your lips intertwined, teasing each other. The two of you had kissed before in a game of Truth or Dare at a sleep away camp, but this was different from an innocent thirteen year old kiss. This was your lips moving in time with his, your teeth grazing his bottom lip needing more. This was the two of you leaving a trail of clothes back to your bedroom where the two of you explored a territory otherwise foreign to each other. This was you and Calum, your best friend, in your bed doing the one thing you swore you’d never do with him. 

It was there in your bed with only a sheet covering your body and the dull light of the moon shining in that Calum asked you his favorite question. 

“Will you marry me Y/N?” Calum asked, his fingers drawing shapes into the soft skin of your upper arms. 

You hesitated. Calum and you weren’t young kids anymore, the two of you had just had sex in your own apartment after all. This wasn’t just your innocent best friend asking you to help him carve another date into the tree while Biscuit watched. This was Calum, your best friend whom you just slept with. This was Calum who you loved, who you were in love with. And he loved you, didn’t he? 

“I’ll marry you on one condition,” you whispered. “You have to take me on a proper date.” 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Calum smiled, kissing your temple. 

VI. 

Now, you were twenty-five. Both you and Calum had finished school and were now back in your hometowns. Your apartments were across the hall from each other and every night one of you would sneak into the other’s bedroom, not wanting to be away. You only lived separately because you both promised your parents you wouldn’t move in together unless you were engaged, something about their old-fashioned way. 

Ever since that night back in your old apartment things had been different, good different. Calum took you up on your demand of a date and soon your random dates turned into dating. Before you realized it your best friend became your boyfriend and the love of your life. The two of you had never been so happy in your life. You couldn’t believe how much you were missing out on because you didn’t realize you were in love with him sooner. But none of that mattered because now he was yours and you were his. 

Tonight Calum was taking you out for a dinner. Your family and friends had spent the whole week telling you that tonight would be the night you finally get engaged, so you were a bit nervous. Sure, Calum had asked you to marry him five times before but this time — whenever it happened — would be for real. 

“Babe, are you ready?” 

“Yeah!” You shouted back, applying your lipstick one final time before going out into your living room to meet Calum. 

Calum wore a button down shirt with the sleeves pulled up. His hair looked like he had actually run a brush through it and he had this goofy grin on his face that you couldn’t help but kiss. You were also dressed up, wearing a dress Calum had bought for you a few weeks ago. This one less revealing than the last dress he bought for you thank god. 

During dinner Calum was fidgety. He kept rambling off random things he did today never letting a comfortable silence to form between the two of you. His actions made you a little uneasy yourself. Maybe your family had been right. Maybe today was the day. 

Lucky for you, you didn’t have to wait long to find out. 

The two of you were currently waiting for dessert to be brought out when Calum got up from his seat across from you and walked to your chair. He turned you slightly, so your legs weren’t hidden under the table but instead stretched out in front of him. He took your hand in his before he opened his mouth to speak, his words shaky. 

“So here’s the thing Y/N, I’ve loved you since we were kids and we used to play pretend in your backyard. I’ve been in love with you since I saw you heartbroken the night of Homecoming and it shattered my heart because I could have, should have protected you. I’m unsure about a lot of things but loving you is not one of them. I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” he said chuckling.

“I’ve don't his at least five other times but I guess this ones different. This one’s for real,” he said getting down on one knee and pulling out a box from his pocket. “Y/N Y/L/N I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you with all my heart and it would mean the absolute world to me if we could carve another date into our little marriage tree. Will you marry me?” 

You nodded your head, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. 

“Of course I’ll marry you Calum.”

It was a year later that your family and friends gathered in your childhood home’s backyard to watch you marry your best friend. Biscuit 2.0 served as your ring bear and your marriage proposal tree, with all six dates engraved, stood as your back drop. 

And just like that you were married to your best friend.


End file.
